The Airtel Microsoft Ghana DigiGirlz Day

The Airtel Microsoft Ghana DigiGirlz Day

DigiGirlz is a Microsoft YouthSpark program which gives middle and high school girls opportunities to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on computer and technology workshops.

digigirlz ghana

Microsoft Ghana partnered with Airtel Ghana through it’s Evolve with STEM initiative for the first Ghana edition of DigiGirlz day.

DigiGirlz day took place at the iSpace Hub in Labone and had about 60 girls participating in the program. The program brought in to mentor the girls, Lucy Quist; Managing Director of Airtel Ghana, Elizabeth Patterson; founder and director of Girls Education Initiative of Ghana, Anita Erskine; founder of Brand Woman Africa, a media entrepreneur, TV & Radio host, Anne Amuzu; co founder Nandi Mobile, Larissa Bowen-Dodoo; founder of Levers in Heels, Florence Toffa; Director of Mobile Web Ghana and founder of Fime Project and others.

These mentors shared inspiring personal stories that’ll bring belief, empower and challenge the young future leaders to go into the technology industry. There was also an Hour of Code session where participants were taught how to code in HTML. The break out sessions dealt with topics like Effective and safer internet usage, Scams and email messages, Why STEM is important,

Derek Appiah Microsoft country manager about the program said;

Microsoft is committed to encouraging more women to join the ICT industry and we are inviting Ghanaian high school girls to discover the opportunities that exist for them in our industry. We want to demystify any belief that STEM is for boys so as to ensure that they make the right education choices now for the bright future that they deserve

Airtel Ghana’s managing director Lucy Quist said;

It’s been an exciting time spent with all the participants of DigiGirlz today. I am encouraged by their curiosity, passion and determination throughout the session.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is an enabler for creativity and problem solving in young people which is why we launched the Evolve with STEM initiative to inspire belief, empower and transform mindsets of young people towards STEM.
We are proud to be associated with DigiGirlz, which aligns with Evolve with STEM. It is great to see organizations like Microsoft, a technology giant, support initiatives to empower young people through STEM

Source Airtel Ghana, Myjoyonline,

World Vision replaces IICD as TizaaWorks Partners

World Vision replaces IICD as TizaaWorks Partners

Microsoft Ghana collaborates with World Vision Ghana to run TizaaWorks, it’s employability platform after IICD it’s founding implementing partner ceased operations.

tizaaworkTizaaWorks online platform is a Microsoft YouthSpark and Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative introduced by Microsoft Ghana.

TizaaWorks is a national one-stop online hub for employability and entrepreneurship to equip young graduates and school-leavers with the right employable skills to prepare them for the job market;
hard and soft skills to bridge the skills gap and secure first-time job opportunities, in addition to providing career guidance and resources for those wanting to build their own businesses.

IICD founding partners of TizaaWorks ceased it operations on 31st December 2015 after 20 years of operation.

“December 2015 marks an end of an era for IICD. In what is perhaps its final act of graceful self-effacement,”  – Kentaro Toyama, IICD International Advisory Board Member

Our gratitude goes out to our staff, global network of ICT4D professionals, and local and international partners who throughout the years trusted and supported our work to enable people in developing contexts to become drivers of positive social change.

“At IICD, we are confident that under the new leadership of the World Vision team, TizaaWorks will continue to make a difference for youth on their pathway to fulfilling their employment and entrepreneurship endeavors.
We wish the best of luck to the new implementing partner, and to the youth in Ghana – many meaningful opportunities for professional development.

We would strongly like to add a thank you to Microsoft for the collaboration and gratitude to all local partners who supported TizaaWorks in 2015” – Ewelina Szopinska

Microsoft Country Manager Ghana, Derek Appiah on the new partnership said,

“Having operated in Ghana for 10 years, one of our main objectives has been to invest in the country’s education and youth.
With the help of partners like IICD, we have been successful in launching TizaaWorks to improve youth employability and we look forward to reaching even more youth through our new partner World Vision, who have been driving similar projects on the continent.
Our ambition as we move forward is to reach even more young Ghanaians by engaging with local partners to connect them with online and physical opportunities in training, employment and entrepreneurship.”

World Vision Ghana’s Andrew Ofosu-Dankyi, speaking on becoming the new implementing partners;

World Vision Ghana collaborates with Microsoft to equip 20,000 disadvantaged youth from rural communities countrywide, with employable skills to prepare them for the job market.

“With our development interventions already benefitting over four million children and their families, our hope is that this partnership will deepen our objective to ensure rural youth acquire relevant employability and entrepreneurial skills.
In addition, the project will expose these youths to flexible ICT education, which will help them to match competitively with their counterparts in the cities.”

TizaaWorks offers access to free courses to develop the youth’s professional skills, aggregates the best, ensuring access to rich content and exposing them to the various learning and training organisations that can help them realize their career aspirations.

The TizaaWorks online platform offerings include:

* Plan your career – career counselling, job market info and stats
* Get trained – mentor matching, IT training, entrepreneurship, CV writing, soft & language skills
* Find a job – job matching tool Entrepreneurs – Start-up training, funding tools, social entrepreneurship and freelance opportunities.
* Get engaged – Community-based networking platform for users to share ideas and volunteer opportunities
Follow Tizaaworks on social sites Facebook, Twitter: @TizaaWork, Website: Tizaaworks

Source : Microsoft |  IICD |  World Vision Ghana

Where and How Much can you get A Lumia 950, 950 XL and 550 in Ghana

Where and How Much can you get A Lumia 950, 950 XL and 550 in Ghana

It’s been about three months since the release of the latest Microsoft  Mobile Lumia flagship and budget devices; Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 950, Lumia 550 and they are finally showing up in stores in Ghana.

Ghana Lumia
UPDATE: Find latest prices of devices here

A number of readers have been asking where you can find and buy one and how much it costs. So here is information on where and how much so you can plan your purchase.

TELEFONIKA GHANA :

lumia 950xl telefonikaLumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL prices at Telefonika Ghana

lumia 550Lumia 550 at Telefonika Ghana

Kindly visit http://www.telefonika.com/ for contacts and location details of all their branches.
COMPU-GHANA:

compu ghana lumia 950xl and 950Lumia 950 XL and Lumia 950 prices at Compu-Ghana

*There currently isn’t any information on the Lumia 550’s availability and pricing yet.

Kindly visit http://www.compughana.com/ for contacts and location details of their branches.

FRANKO TRADING ENT.:

franko trading 950 xl
Franko Trading Ent. has the Lumia 950 XL for sale at GHS 2,500
*There currently isn’t any information on the Lumia 950 and 550 yet.

Kindly visit http://www.frankotrading.com/ for contacts and location details of their branches.


FREDDIES CORNER:

Freddies Corner has the Lumia 950 XL on sale at GHS 2,500 .

*Please note all other Phone stores and retailers including the telecommunication networks; Vodafone, MTN, Airtel and Tigo rely on supply from the Microsoft Ghana mobile division who are yet to have the country variant devices.
Speaking to the Microsoft Ghana mobile division office, they are expecting these devices sometime in February, can’t give an exact date. So if you care about county variants and can wait it out fine, if not you could just grab one now.

*Also warranty on devices from sellers vary and kind of affect pricing. But all stores give a years warranty on manufacturers defect.

Have you seen the phones on sale some where else? For less maybe, kindly share with us.

Microsoft Ghana Launches Windows 10

Microsoft Ghana Launches Windows 10

Microsoft Ghana has finally launched Windows 10 in Ghana.

Microsoft Ghana launched Windows 10 yesterday at the RS Amegashie Auditorium, University of Ghana Business School, Legon in Accra.

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

The event saw Students from tertiary institutions around the country, Microsoft Student Partners Ghana members and the business community attending the event.

Microsoft Ghana country manager Derek Appiah giving the keynote said;

 Following the global launch of Windows10 in July, Microsoft has launched a series of Windows 10 promotions in Ghana to help students. Microsoft in Ghana has trained over 15,000 teachers, impacted over one million students and created over 1,800 jobs.
Windows10 is in almost 95 languages. Windows 10 is our best Windows ever, taking the best of both Windows 7 and 8.
Access to content is changing pretty fast. That is what Windows 10 is all about. One experience, one platform, one store!

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Mark Pritchard OEM, Channels and Consumer Group Lead Microsoft WCA at the event speaking on Windows Insider program, Windows 10 devices and introducing the Techno Mobile Winpad 10 said;

Our vision is to empower everybody to do and be better. Our objective is to help people do more and become more productive.
In our work, office and home Windows 10 is one experience, one platform one store. All Windows 10 devices are using 1 platform. Windows 10 is the most secure platform and can protect people from Cyber criminality.

We are working with partners to ensure you get windows devices at an affordable price. Microsoft Ghana is partnering with Techno Mobile to launch the best mobile device for work, the Techno WinPad10.

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Warren La Fleure Education Lead, spoke on Transforming Education in Ghana with Windows 10 and Office 365.

Windows 10 leads us to a world of digital learning. Knowledge & Learning is changing and making access to information more purposeful through creative design.

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Picture via Twitter: @eboster1

Also at the launch event there were Windows 10 demos by students of Ghana Technology university, University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana, Reagent University, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana Institute of Journalism with UCC, University of Cape Coast winning the best demo presentation.

Picture via Twitter: @microsoftafrica

Picture via Twitter: @microsoftafrica

There were free windows 10 upgrade booths available at the event to help people upgrade their devices to windows 10.

 

Were you at the at the #Windows10Gh launch event,  share your experience with us.

Meet Derek Appiah, Microsoft Ghana’s new Country Manager

Meet Derek Appiah, Microsoft Ghana’s new Country Manager

Derek sees significant potential in Ghana’s young population and is excited that Microsoft has a presence in the country to help unlock this potential.

Derek Appiah, new country manager for Microsoft Corporation in Ghana holds both an engineering and MBA degree. He’s gained over 20 years of experience in various fields; research, technology, product development, marketing, sales and management with various organizations; he’s worked in the UK as the general manager, new business development for BT, worked as a chief enterprise solutions officer at MTN, Nigeria. Derek has also been an independent IT and Telecoms consultant to telcos in UAE, New Zealand, Qatar and Ireland. He worked with Vodafone Ghana as a Vodafone business solutions director & previous CEO of Logiciel Ghana Ltd., currently a non executive director.

“What I really enjoy about working in emerging markets is that you can make a big impact quickly; it’s possible to contribute to the ecosystem in a very real way.”

Appiah’s goal as Country Manager will be to help the company have a more active role in Ghana and add more value now that it has offices in the country and a 100% Ghanaian staff complement. He aims to make a significant impact on Ghana’s development,

“I believe there is enormous potential for technology to change lives in the emerging world, so this is an opportunity to make a big impact using Microsoft to enable productivity for businesses, government and consumers,”

A key area Derek will be focusing is developing youth employability skills, which he believes will help to develop Ghana’s business ecosystem.

“What I love most about Ghana is its young and vibrant population,

They are peace-loving and punch above their weight intellectually, making them the perfect candidates to take the country forward if they can acquire the necessary skills.

This is not about charity but rather about creating a value exchange between citizens, industry and government. Young people are an asset to our society, and even more so if they are adequately equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to create a brighter future for themselves and for Ghana.”

 

 

Source : Microsoft